[Mithuial]

Hello Everyone!
I am new as well. Since I'm a christian, and love both Tolkien and Lewis I thought I'd join in this very fascinating discussion. My two favorite books in the world are: Lord of the Rings and Til We Have Faces. I find it hard to compare allegory in Lewis's Narnia vs. Tolkien's Middle Earth for the reason that Tolkien didn't actually intend to write an allegory at first. He just wanted to write a story, and all these wonderful themes just seemed to work their way in. This really is an example of the way that what we believe (what is important to us) always seems to work its way into everything we write (or think). Lewis, on the other hand wanted to write an allegory for children. In Lewis's books there is usually one distinct Christ figure and one symbol of evil. But we look at LotR and discover 3 or 4 Christ figures. They're all over the place. Frodo, Aragorn, and Gandalf all appear at one time or another as a Christ figure. I was utterly delighted when I read the Silmarillion for the first time a few years ago and was finally able to meet Iluvatar, the creator, and understand Tolkien's words when he talks about the end of days when Iluvatar's chidren sing before him, and when Iluvatar speaks of Melkor's evil intent being used for His glory. I felt a deep peace and understanding that I often experience when reading the Bible. I experienced the same sensation while reading Til We Have Faces when Orual recognizes that the fundamental purpose of human beings is to reach a union with the divine, or divine love, which Psyche had accomplished through her sacrifice but which Orual could not understand. This divine love Orual finally saw as the source of all the longings which she could never quench. As a human, she thirsted for a kind of joy, but never was able to satisfy the desire completely. Orual then recognized just how magnificent the true god always was and her response to this experience is one of reverence and worship. Now, that is something I could relate to. Which is one thing I truly love about Lewis: whenever I read his stuff I feel like I'm looking in a mirror, but this is often true for Tolkien as well. I generally favor Tolkien more on the whole, but both are dear to me; both were good companions in my childhood. They still are.
P.S. Some of my writing fanatic friends and I are in a club much like the Inklings.